


A Poetic Letter

by Treekianthia



Category: Bravely Default (Video Game) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Bravely Second Spoilers, F/M, Poetry, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-05-19 18:29:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14878983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Treekianthia/pseuds/Treekianthia
Summary: When Edea decides to take a quick break, she uses it to go through some mail. Though she’s gotten all of things she normally expects, there’s one letter that sticks out from the rest. (Fic Archive: 10/22/16)





	1. A Poetic Letter

**Author's Note:**

> The following fic was originally posted to outside sources on 10/22/16. It is being posted here for archival purposes and to help document my progress as a writer. More info on myself and my works can be found on my tumblr blog woodland-knight.

It had been another hectic day for Edea. She had been Grand Marshal for seven months now, and though she had hoped things would get easier, they had only gotten more difficult. Of course there was the large amount of paperwork to do, which Edea had been doing all on her own since Alternis had left a month before; and then next came all the meetings she had to attend, and though she had already gone to three that morning, she had another two to go to in the afternoon; and on top of it all, she still had to find some time in the day to go see her parents, who had come to visit. Balancing it all felt like a near impossible thing to do, but somehow she was just managing to barely get by. If she had to do this much longer though, she’d probably just cave in and hire Einheria and Kamiizumi to help her.

As she entered her office, Edea groaned before promptly sitting and putting her head down on her desk. Papers crinkled underneath her cheek, and a few fell onto the floor as she stretched her arms out across the cold wood. Most of the papers were paperwork she had yet to do, so she’d need to pick it back it back up later, but for now she just wanted to relax and forget about everything she had to do. Lifting her head up, she scanned her desk for a pile of envelopes she had put down earlier in the day. Her desk was an absolute mess though, and every paper and file seemed to blend together. Luckily, after a few minutes of searching, she finally found the envelopes she wanted and placed them in her lap.

“Let’s see if we have anything good…” Edea mumbled to herself as she flipped through the pile. Most of it was just junk she had received in the mail: an ad for Florem’s greatest vacation spots and some museum opening in Hartschild… But there were still a few things in there she knew were worth looking at: a letter from Tiz and Agnès, Yew’s monthly reports along with a package from Magnolia, and a postcard from Kamiizumi. She figured she’d read the letter first and save Yew’s report for later, and when she went out with her parents she’d find a postcard to send Kamiizumi in return. Having everything planned out, Edea took the letter and opened it.

By the time Edea finished the letter, a good ten minutes had passed. It had been difficult to read Tiz’s scratchy writing, but she somehow managed after squinting and turning the paper slightly. It mentioned that both Tiz and Agnès were doing well, and that they had plans to marry in the Spring. They had even requested that Edea help plan the wedding and wanted her to be the Maid of Honor, which she most definitely was going to agree to. Overall, it had been heartwarming, and Edea knew she’d need to send a response soon.

Next came Magnolia’s package. Though Edea’s normal preference for opening packages was using a sharp blade, Magnolia had wrapped it so well that Edea thought it would be a crime to damage the paper. Carefully, Edea unwrapped the package and removed the contents, which was a dozen or so pastries. They were no doubt from the bakery the Panettones had opened, which meant they were undoubtedly delicious. Edea’s mouth watered just looking at them.

“ _Don’t eat them all in one sitting!_ ” a note included in the package read. Edea rolled her eyes but smiled, knowing well enough they probably wouldn’t last more than two days. She appreciated the gift though, especially since she had been having a craving for sweets the past few hours. Taking another look at the pastries, Edea could see Magnolia had ordered all of her favorites from the bakery, including a miniature triple layer chocolate cream pie and caramel filled fudge brownies. Helping herself, Edea grabbed the latter of the two pastries and popped it in her mouth before wrapping them back up and putting them under her desk.

Finally, Edea looked at the postcard from Kamiizumi. He and Minette were apparently in Yunohana now, and Minette seemed to be enjoying every bit of it. He said they’d be buying souvenirs to bring back as gifts and asked Edea if she he had a preference for Goldfish or Koi Fish. She wasn’t sure how to answer it though, since she didn’t think either of them were really edible…  _Oh wait, that wasn’t what he meant, was it?_

Sighing, Edea put the letters and such back down on her messy desk. She put Yew’s report in a pile of important documents, and then tried her best to organize the rest of the miscellaneous files. She figured she should try to find the time to properly clean the mess of papers, but she didn’t really have the ability to do it now. Her next meeting would start soon, so she’d need to head back out before she started to run late. As she got up to leave though, her eye caught a glimpse of something sitting neatly on her desk.

Reaching over, Edea took what appeared to be another envelope off the pile of junk mail from earlier. It was a beautifully designed envelope- dark with intricate patterns of stars and constellations- and on the back of it was her name written out in bold, white letters. She had no idea when it had gotten there or who had sent it, and she had no memory of ever bringing it in. The only writing on it was her name, and there was no sign of any return address. When she turned it over though, she could see a wax seal with an R imprinted in it and realized exactly who it had come from.

Trying her best not to damage anything, Edea ripped the envelope open. Seeing there were quite a few things inside, she pushed a large pile of papers off her desk and dumped the contents onto the now clear space. Out of the envelope fell a piece of paper, dozens of photos, and what appeared to be a small box for jewelry. Her interest was in the piece of paper though, which was ripped from what appeared to be a journal. Picking it up, Edea quickly scanned over every line that had been written.

_“Ah, my dear Edea…_

_Hearts are a fragile thing,_  
That we take and break as we please.  
Yet yours is one that I must protect,  
So my own can be at ease…

_Even if we live a world apart,_  
Our hearts still beat as one.  
And even if I’m not always there,  
My love can’t be undone…

_And so my heart still yearns for you,_  
Every night and day.  
Until the day I return to you,  
And tell you I can stay…

_But for now all of the love I feel,_  
Is written down by hand.  
Travelling across time and space,  
A distance we must withstand…

_So please wait for me Edea,_  
No matter how long it takes.  
For our hearts still share their beat,  
Even if one of them breaks…

_I miss you…”_

Edea read the words over and over, with each time causing her heart to beat quicker. This was no doubt Ringabel’s handwriting, and even though he shared his with Alternis, only Ringabel would dare write her a poem like this. The wax seal had proved it was him just as much, and she was sure she could find more proof in his pictures. It would also explain the lack of a return address, since Ringabel wouldn’t have been able to deliver it by normal means. It felt like a miracle that it had even made it to her in the first place.

She could see he had taken care when writing it though, as each letter seemed to be perfectly placed. He had also taken the time to make sure it sounded right, as she could see marks of where old words had been written over by new ones. She wondered what had given him the idea to a write a poem instead of a formal letter, but she could tell he poured his heart and soul into it. The fact he had been able to do anything like this at all admittedly caused her to be a bit emotional.

Ever since the last time she saw Ringabel, Edea had thought she would never hear from him until the day he was relieved of his duties. Yet to have a poem he had written in her hands gave her a type of happiness she couldn’t describe, and she couldn’t help but smile through her tears. This was a bit of a problem though, as her tears were managing to fall onto the paper. It was causing a few dark spots to form, and she was worried it was going to make the ink smudge. Quickly, she wiped her tears off her cheeks in order to avoid any serious damage being done.

Putting the poem on her desk to dry, Edea sat back down to take a look at the photos. Most of them were of places she had never seen, but she assumed they were all of places Ringabel had gone to on his travels. She wondered if he had sent them without permission, since they may have been places of other worlds he had traveled to, but she could have also been wrong, and they could have just been locations in Luxendarc she had never been to before. It was always a mystery with Ringabel, and she had no way of being sure. Instead, she just turned her focus back to what the pictures were of and not where they had been taken.

There was one place that looked to be a city, but it had aged into ruins as the years had gone by, and another place looked to be as if it were somewhere in Yunohana, though Edea didn’t remember ever seeing the buildings in the shot. Despite not knowing the locations, they still proved to be fascinating pictures at the very least. She was a bit disappointed none of them were of Ringabel himself, but she shouldn’t have expected him to have taken any. He had managed to catch a few glimpses of what appeared to be butterflies though, but the wings always seemed to be cut off at a certain point. She wondered if he did that on purpose, or if he just had really bad camera aim.

Once she had finished with the photos, she looked over at the small box that had been included. Opening it up, she found a pair of silver earrings accented with some green and blue gems. They were in the shape of some sort of bird’s feather - a peacock’s, perhaps- and they had definitely been professionally crafted. On the inner lid of the box, there seemed to be some sort of note, but she couldn’t understand what it meant.  _Amor Vincit Omnia…_  Whatever it was, Ringabel surely meant it to be a heartfelt message.

It wasn’t common knowledge that her ears were pierced, as it was normally hard to see them through all of her hair. Ringabel had of course known though, since she and Alternis had gotten their ears pierced at the same time. Edea had always complained about not having a nice pair of earrings to wear when traveling, so Ringabel must have decided he’d finally get her one. She wasn’t sure if she’d have anything to wear them with though, but she figured she could find something if she looked hard enough. Either way, she was grateful and knew she would cherish them.

After taking a moment to put the earrings in, Edea once again turned her attention to Ringabel’s poem to see if it had dried. Out of everything he had sent, it was the thing she cared about and wanted to look at the most. Reading over it yet again, Edea could tell exactly how lonely Ringabel had been feeling without her. She missed him just as much as he missed her of course, but hearing from him at least brought a bit of comfort. She hoped this wasn’t the last time he’d try to contact her.

Edea didn’t have much more time to dwell on it though, as she still had a meeting she needed to attend. She was no doubt late for it now, but she knew she could just come up with some excuse for her tardiness. Letting out a long sigh, she held the poem in her hands and close to her chest. She closed her eyes and replayed the lines of the poem over and over in her head, trying her best to imagine how Ringabel would say them to her. For a second, it felt as if he was right there with her, but when she opened her eyes, all she saw was the mess of papers she had pushed onto the floor.

Perhaps maybe one day, when Ringabel had returned, he’d write another poem and read it to her, and it would be even more emotional than the one she held in her hands. For now though, she had other places to be, and the poem would have to wait, as much as she wanted to drop everything for it. Putting it down on her desk, Edea read it one last time before heading over to the office door. Before she could open it though, she stopped herself to glance back at the piece of paper lying still on her desk once more. Taking a moment to recite it to herself one last time, she mumbled one last thing before finally heading back to work…

_“I miss you too, Ringabel…”_


	2. A Poem to Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Ringabel goes to put some files away, he seems to upset Edea. It turns out there's something she's hiding that she doesn't want him to see. (Fic Archive: 02/04/17)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following fic was originally posted to outside sources on 02/04/17. It is being posted here for archival purposes and to help document my progress as a writer. More info on myself and my works can be found on my tumblr blog woodland-knight.

“Don’t touch that!”

Ringabel looked at his girlfriend as she leapt out in front of him. Her cheeks were flushed and her expression filled with determination, and she was blocking Ringabel from moving. A moment before, he had gone over to a filing cabinet in order to put some documents away, but for some strange reason, Edea had rushed over and stopped him from doing so. He couldn’t understand why she had, as there didn’t seem to be anything remotely abnormal about the filing cabinet, but there she was, staring him down and blocking it from his view. Confused by her actions, Ringabel furrowed his brow and tilted his head.

“This is where you said to put the files, right?” he asked Edea as he held the documents up to her. During the week, she had ordered him to fill out important documents relating to the Sky Knights, and now that they had been processed and cleared she had told him to put them away. As soon as he started walking over to file them though, it seems she had changed her mind. Still in front of him, Edea bit her lip and stretched her arms out to the side.

“I can’t have you seeing the sensitive material in these files. They contain top secret information,” she said with a bit of force. She sounded a bit nervous, but her face wasn’t showing any signs of her nerves acting up. Ringabel, brow still furrowed, blinked a few times and frowned.

“Then how am I supposed to put the files away if you won’t let me?” Ringabel continued to ask. He had a feeling Edea wasn’t telling him the truth, but she was doing an excellent job at keeping her composure. Ringabel had been Eternia’s general for quite some time now, and all information and data had to pass through him before even reaching Edea. There was no such case in which he wouldn’t be informed about sensitive material, so he had no other choice other than to assume Edea was lying to him. Edea, however, continued to hold her composure and tried to push him away from the cabinet.

“I’ll put them away for you! I should have actually done that in the first place!” she told him as she tried to take the files from Ringabel’s hand. She still sounded nervous, and Ringabel noticed her hands were shaking a bit. He lifted the files out of her reach before she could take them though, looking her straight in the eyes as he did so.

“You’re not getting ahold of these files until you tell me what you’re hiding from me, Edea,” he said as he held the files far above her head. “No sensitive information relating to Eternia ever gets past me, so I know you’re not being truthful with me.”

Edea stared at Ringabel and put her hands on her hips. “I never said that the information related to Eternia,” she pointed out to him. Ringabel realized she had been right, but that still didn’t make him any less curious. She was still hiding something from him, and he wanted to know what.

“Well as your boyfriend, I would still like to know what you don’t want me seeing,” he told her. “Keeping secrets will only add stress to our relationship, so it’s better just to clear things up before it's too late.”

Edea let an annoyed sigh and tried to jump up to grab the papers from Ringabel’s hands. “Just give me the stupid files, Ringabel! It doesn’t matter what’s in there!” she complained as the papers were lifted farther and farther from her reach. Ringabel watched her continuously leap into the air with no success and shook his head when she showed no signs of giving up.

“If it didn’t matter what was in there, you wouldn’t be acting this way, Edea,” he pointed out to her. He could hear Edea grumble something under breath, and he assumed she was cursing him out. A second later, she said something about him being “irrational and childish”, though It seemed pretty obvious to him though that he wasn’t the one acting that way.

“It’s none of your business what’s in there, Ringabel! Now hand them over!” Edea continued to complain. She had stopped jumping, and her fists were clenched with anger. She was taking deep breaths as well, more than likely as an attempt to get herself to stay somewhat calm. Thinking it was safe, Ringabel lowered the files back down, but still kept a strong grip on them so Edea couldn’t take them from his hands.

“I’m not handing these over until you tell me what’s in the file cabinet,” Ringabel reiterated. Edea huffed and glared at him, no doubt trying to intimidate him now, but Ringabel stared back at her with no signs of backing down.

“Why are you so desperate to know what’s in there anyway!?” Edea asked while puffing her chest out. “It’s not like I’m keeping some huge secret from you!”

Ringabel shook his head again. “Any secret you keep from me is a big secret, Edea. Besides, if you don’t tell me now, I’ll just keep bugging you until you finally do. Or perhaps… I’ll sneak a peek when you aren’t looking,” Ringabel suggested to her. Displeased with both the outcomes she was presented with, Edea stomped her foot and finally admitted defeat.

“Ugh, fine! I’ll tell you what’s in there as long as you just give me the documents!” she said while throwing her hands up in the air. Finally satisfied, Ringabel loosened his grip on the papers.

“Deal,” he said as he held the files out to her. Edea snatched the files from his hands and faced the filing cabinet. She seemed hesitant to put the papers away, which was odd seeing how she had been so determined to get them a moment before. Ringabel assumed it was because she didn’t want to admit what she was hiding, so he moved a bit closer to her to try and get her to move a little faster. Finally, she opened the top drawer and took out an envelope.

“...it’s… It’s the poems,” she admitted as she placed the file into the envelope, which then went between two folders. Ringabel watched as she took out an older envelope from the back of the drawer and put it on top of the cabinet.

“The poems?” he asked Edea as she closed the drawer. She was getting flustered again, and she refused to look Ringabel in the eyes.

“Yes, the poems! The ones... The ones you gave to me when you were gone… All twenty-four of them… I keep them in my office in case I want to read them again…” she admitted to him, much to her embarrassment. Ringabel was surprised his poetry was what she had been hiding and wasn’t sure why she had wanted to keep it a secret.

“Edea…” Ringabel said in a way that mimicked a soft laugh. “Why wouldn’t you just tell me that instead of trying to hide it from me? I am the one who wrote them, so I already know what they say! What harm would come from me knowing?”

Edea continued to keep her gaze away from Ringabel. “I didn’t want you making fun of me for it…” she explained to him. It was obvious she was still embarrassed, but she wasn’t acting how she normally did. Usually, she’d get angry and huffy when embarrassed, but this time… This time she was shy and soft. Ringabel gave her a warm smile.

“Me? Make fun of you for it? Edea, I should be flattered that a wonderful woman like yourself would even consider keeping the heartfelt love poems of a lowly man!” he told her in what he felt was an encouraging way. Edea, however, quickly became annoyed with his comments.

“See, you’re doing it now!” she accused while puffing her cheeks out. Ringabel was caught off guard, as he had been truly trying to cheer her up, and stood quietly for a moment before speaking again.

“...come here, Edea,” he requested as he opened his arms out to her. Edea looked at him without saying anything, but he continued to beckon for her to come hug him. Slowly, Edea shuffled over and wrapped her arms around him, though she was still a bit annoyed with him. Ringabel let her rest her head against his chest despite this and wrapped his arms tightly around her in return. “It really makes me happy you’ve kept the poems for so long. I wrote them only for your eyes, so to know you still read them is one of the best feelings to have. I wasn’t trying to tease you; I was only trying to show you how much it meant to me,” he explained to her. He was trying to be as heartfelt as his poems, and it seemed to be having an effect. He could tell Edea was calming down and a little less annoyed with him.

“Sorry for keeping it a secret from you....” she apologized as she stayed close to him. Ringabel enjoyed the closeness and hoped it didn’t end any time soon. He kissed the top of her head and continued to smile.

“All is forgiven, my little peahen,” he said as he began to rock her from side to side. She seemed to have gone back to being soft and shy, as she was quiet when she spoke.

“...hey, Ringabel?” she said in attempts to get his attention. It wasn’t that hard to do though, as they were already as close as they could be. It was weird seeing Edea be this quiet, but he wasn’t going to complain. Though he was fond of her energetic and cheerful nature, it was nice to see other sides of her as well.

“Yes, Edea?” Ringabel asked as he continued to rock her. She was having a bit of a hard time keeping her feet on the ground as he did so, but she managed to keep her balance long enough to look up at him.

“...do you think you can write me another poem?” she quietly asked him. Another smile creeped along Ringabel’s face, and he took a moment to come up with another poem Edea would want to keep…

“A little bird sits and waits,  
Her beauty catching my eye.  
And even though she’s loud and fierce,  
She can also be quite shy.

She tells me all her secrets,  
Adding to her allure.  
And her charms are unforgettable,  
Leaving me to fall in love with her.

So for this bird that I love,  
These poems I will write.  
For even when I’m far away,  
I am still her beloved knight.

I love you, my little peahen…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic was actually a birthday gift for the user Komatsu! I felt a bit guilty for making her birthday fic a short sequel to a fic I had already written, but I had a cute idea and wanted to go with it!! KOMATSU, IF YOU SEE THIS I'M SORRY I WASN'T MORE ORIGINAL.

**Author's Note:**

> Despite being a bit older, this fic has always been my most popular! I enjoy writing poetry and such, and this was a creative way to incorporate both my enjoyment of fic writing and love of writing poetry!


End file.
